The heavens declare the glory of God;
the skies proclaim the work of his hands.
-Psalm 19:1

Do you know that God controls the clouds and makes his lightning flash?
-Job 37:15



Wednesday, July 30, 2008

Our trip to the Ichetucknee River

Whew... now that I've got all that off my chest, I should share my Monday with you. After my future groom and I told the children on Monday about our plans to be married, we all headed out with his wonderful mother (seriously, folks... she is one of those future mothers-in-law that is super easy to love!!!) and drove down to the Ichetucknee River in Florida, near O'Leno State Park. A great southern treat is to hop into that very COLD spring-fed river and tube down. It's a nice relaxing, cool and refreshing ride, and we had great fun. The girls, Mini-Dew and MFG's daughter, bet me I couldn't go a whole day without talking about weather... which, might I say, is exceptionally challenging, especially when you're floating down a river (about 30 minutes from the pick-up site), and you see cumulus towers building and start to hear some rumbles of thunder off in the near distance... ugh. I accepted the challenge though... and I only secretly shared my weather concerns with MFG when no one else was listening. Just to share my concerns... as the wind picked up and the thunder grew more frequent and less distant... I really got concerned... We didn't have too many options. Fortunately, we avoided any nearby lightning strikes and the thunderstorm cell passed over quickly. That freed us up to hit the Blue Hole of the Ichetucknee, which is a phenomenal spring a little ways down the river. The kids had a great time jumping into the swimming hole and swimming over the brilliant blue spring which would push them out of the way as it fed 67 MILLION gallons of water into the river per day!!! We did make sure that the depth would support foot first jumping. Along the way to that spring, we encountered LOTS of large banana spiders, some fantastic mushroom and fungi and some interesting tree shapes. We then headed over to the crystal clear Head Springs, which is just amazingly beautiful. It was freezing cold (not literally-a constant 72 degrees year round), but it was so beautifully and refreshingly clear. We had a truly wonderful day, swimming and tubing and laughing... and exploring faster routes through my Garmin... now, my van needs a bath...

Aside from all that, we do have a moderate chance of some development out of a Cape Verde wave just now off the African coast. This system would become Edouard if named. I will keep you posted. Locally, I have been dealing with thundershowers daily, which is a wonderfully musical sound for me.

That's it for today.

Have a fabulous day!
~Dewdrop

14 comments:

  1. So, when do we get to see the t-shirt that says...

    I survived the Ichetucknee??

    Isn't it beautiful and a blast? We used to go down it every summer that we would stay at Mawsi and Papa's on the Suwannee. Those were the days - canoeing on the Suwannee, running the little boat on the Santa Fe and tubing. :D

    ReplyDelete
  2. Wow! That is a beautiful, beautiful place! Glad you all had a great time!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Christine, Funny you mention that... they actually had t-shirts for sale! :O) It truly was beauty and peaceful. I especially loved the springs.

    Pat, We sure did. Thanks!

    ReplyDelete
  4. I can't help but worry about the gators. They don't mind the cold water. Kill joy, I know. I'm sure the kids had loads of fun!

    ReplyDelete
  5. Teresa, I would expect nothing less from you. Fortunately, we weren't eaten or attacked my alligators, and I don't know of any attacks... the advice is "If you see an alligator while on the river, please give them a wide berth and do not attempt to feed or molest them. Although rare, alligators have been known to make unprovoked attacks on pets and humans, so please keep your distance." The kids had a blast!

    ReplyDelete
  6. I found this information on a Florida blog... "The really sad part of the story is that once a gator feels comfortable approaching humans it must be destroyed because releasing it elsewhere runs the risk that it would just repeat past behaviors in a new locale. Alligators become habituated to being around humans because people irresponsibly feed them, which is a violation of state law, and this makes them dangerous because they lose their natural fear of humanity. This loss of fear increases encounters and can lead to attacks and serious injuries."

    ReplyDelete
  7. Been a long time since I have been down there. I use to go scuba diving there all the time..Beautiful place.

    ReplyDelete
  8. I bet scuba diving in there is just amazing. I guess it opens up nicely down beneath... I have never done that, don't know if my ears woul dbe able to handle it. I don't equalize pressure well. It was certainly beautiful from above.

    ReplyDelete
  9. This post deserves a high five.

    HIGH FIVE.

    That little male spider is going to pay for any indiscretion. A nice snack for Mrs. spider.

    Great post and terrific photos.

    Troy

    ReplyDelete
  10. Thanks for the HIGH FIVE, Troy! It was great exploring those woods. You should have seen all the spiders. We actually came across one where the male was paying... it was too gruesome imo for me to share, but I sure did shoot it.. Thanks!

    ReplyDelete
  11. This is my first visit and I love following the weather..Great blog.
    Rambling Woods

    ReplyDelete
  12. I never knew it was so beautiful there

    ReplyDelete
  13. This is such a beautiful place. I would love to swim there too!

    ReplyDelete
  14. Rambling Woods, welcome. I hope you'll be back! Weather is sort of a passion of mine... in case you didn't notice. lol

    Marcia, I din't either...

    Steve and Aisha, It was COLD, but yes, definitely beautiful!

    ReplyDelete

Dew comment, please...